


we should just kiss like real people do

by FeralCreed



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Happy Ending, Fuck Canon, I do what I want, Loki is a single parent, M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker is basically the entire team's kid, Slow Burn, Thanos is really only mentioned for forever but becomes a problem later, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, and didn't tell anyone, and you can't stop me, background Clintasha, literally so many characters deserved better and I'm gonna give them that, probably out of character but i mean lbr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-11
Packaged: 2020-02-27 12:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18739231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeralCreed/pseuds/FeralCreed
Summary: When Loki threatens someone near and dear to the Avengers, nobody is happy when he ends up coming home with them. Certainly not Tony, who clings to his suspicion that there's ulterior motives at play, and certainly not Loki, who doesn't trust anybody but himself to keep his daughter safe. The god of mischief has always been talented at taking advantage of situations and turning them to his benefit - but is that really what's going to happen here?Basically the only movies that are canon in this fic are Avengers 2012 and the Thor trilogy (minus the Sanctuary II scene from Ragnarok). This is my canon now and I do what I want. Also this idea has been in my head for like a week and I ignored it and then I read a bunch of Frostiron fics and thought to myself it'd make a great premise for an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers fic and here we are because I'm trash.





	1. Chapter 1

Tony Stark would never admit it, but it scared the hell out of him when two people suddenly appeared in the middle of his workshop. One minute he was sifting through his tools, looking for the prototype he'd just had, and the next someone was standing on the other side of the table he was leaning against. 

“I thought you might like to say goodbye,” the taller said, and-

Why was Loki in his workshop? No, scratch that, why was Loki in his workshop holding the arm of Peter Parker, and why was Peter in chains? He didn't look hurt, but he did look scared, and Tony couldn't really blame him for that. If Tony had to guess, he'd say that Peter had gotten kidnapped out of school by a megalomaniac, and that was enough to unnerve anyone. Loki was still talking, he realised, and he tuned back in to hear something about how the god could only give them a minute. 

“You're not taking him anywhere,” he interrupted, and held his hand up. The latest suit of Iron Man armour flew to him, encasing his hand, his wrist, all the way to his shoulder. He aimed the repulsor at Loki, who simply looked annoyed. “Let him go.” 

“Hm. No, I don't think so.” Loki flicked his fingers toward him and Tony instinctively fired, but the shot fizzled out against the hazy green shield now between them. 

Damn, he hated magic. 

“What do you want him for?” he asked. If he could keep Loki talking, Jarvis would have time to alert the other Avengers, and they could do something to stop this. Thor was here somewhere, right? And Bruce, despite his insistence to never become the Hulk again, would never let anything happen to Peter. None of the Avengers would. Once the villain was monologuing, the heroes would get him while he was distracted, it was practically a given. 

“Someone in the Zeberi system has been collecting the children of influential people. I offered to bring to them a child that any of the Avengers would protect as their own.” Loki shrugged one shoulder. “Your team's reputation spread to anyone who knew of the Chitauri, after the Battle of New York. The universe has noticed you, and I get to benefit from it. This boy is worth a considerable amount to whoever is on Sibila. I've heard that it's Thanos and he's still angry at you.” 

“You can't do that,” Tony insisted, fear coiling low in his stomach. 

“Funny creatures, you mortals,” Loki mused. “You seem to think that you can stop anyone simply by saying they're not allowed. Well, try to stop me if you must. I'll have my reward in hand in a matter of minutes, but I'm sure you'll think you're still able to do something about it after I'm gone.” 

With that, he and Peter disappeared, and Tony was left standing in an empty workshop for just a few moments before the rest of the Avengers crashed in. 

“Jarvis said it was an emergency,” Natasha said, turning to Tony. He can see the question in her eyes – he's alone, what's wrong? 

“Loki kidnapped Peter,” he replied, and not much ever seemed to scare her, but he saw a flicker of fear in her eyes before the professional mask slid into place. 

“Then we stop him,” she answered decisively. 

Loki was right, Tony admitted to himself as the gauntlet retracted from his hand. They do still think that they can do something. And he knew his team better than to think that something like intergalactic travel would keep them from saving Peter. Loki had name dropped a system and a planet, he told them, and Thor promised that someone named Heimdall could get them there in a matter of seconds. 

“We need to have a plan, first,” Clint said. “Or else we're going to be in all kinds of trouble just running into space blind, especially if Loki is there.” 

“Our plan is to kick Loki's ass and get Peter back,” Steve replied, and sometimes Tony liked the way he thought, but this wasn't the time. 

“No, Clint is right,” Thor told him. “My brother is many unkind things, but this is not like him. Once he had children of his own, he refused to endanger another's. I believe there is something worse at play here.” 

“That maniac reproduced?” Tony asked. “Maybe we can kidnap his kids and hold them as ransom for Peter.” He doesn't feel very bad at the glare he gets from Thor in return. 

“Loki's children died when Asgard was destroyed,” Thor said, voice sharper than normal, and okay, Tony does feel kind of bad at that. 

“So we get a few backup plans. We're Avengers, we got this.” Tony waved a hand at where Loki and Peter had been standing a few minutes ago. “Parker's counting on us. And we're gonna pull through for him. Loki said he was taking him because he was someone that any of us would protect. We're gonna show him how right he was.” 

While it wasn't his most eloquent speech, his team agreed with him. They had each other's backs and that was all they needed. He pulled up Jarvis' recording of Loki's visit and played it back for them. Of course, Thor kept insisting that something was wrong, but the other Avengers more or less tuned him out. After watching it twice, Nat was the one who first came up with the beginnings of a plan. 

It was handy to have magic sometimes, but even though it was going to be their key to rescuing Peter, Tony still hated it. Heimdall was great at picking up teams and putting them all down together again, but his stomach flipped uncomfortably once the light of their transport had faded. He could go without being used to that. Jarvis put up a new alert message on the screen of his helmet and he sighed in relief. 

“The tracker in Peter's suit shows him being just ahead,” he told the others. Only problem with that was that 'just ahead' meant inside the big fortress they'd landed in front of. Well, it could be worse. He could be here alone. But honestly? He was pretty sure any one of them would show up alone if it meant saving Peter. 

“Okay, everyone remember what to do?” he asked. He got a few confirmations, and then the plan no longer mattered because the gates of the fortress opened and dozens of alien soldiers started pouring out. Well, shit. 

Tony started firing, Jarvis' systems keeping his teammates out of the line of fire. Steve and Nat were teaming up, he saw out of the corner of his eye, and Thor flew off to land in the middle of the advancing swarm to... do whatever he wanted, apparently. He was distracted when one of the aliens body slammed him and took him to the ground, and he twisted wildly underneath it until he could get his hand up and repulsor it in the face. 

It slid off to the side and he got up, deciding to take to the air so he wouldn't have to worry about that happening again. But something distracted him. For a second... he could have sworn he saw... Loki. There he was, flipping a knife in his hand to get a better grip to gut one of the aliens attacking him. Okay, that was unexpected. A few hours ago, it had sounded like Loki was working for whoever was in charge here. Tony hadn't seen him until just now, either, which brought up even more questions. 

“Jarvis, is that who I think it is?” 

“I appear to be picking up Loki's magical signature,” the AI confirmed a moment later. 

“Let's shoot him in the face. Thor! I'm shooting your brother in the face.” 

“Loki's here?” Thor asked, sounding surprised, and then there was a pained grunt as he got headbutted in the chest by an alien. 

Tony was about to reply when Loki disappeared again. He swore out loud instead and asked Jarvis to scan for him. According to the AI, Loki was still there, but not registering on any of his scanners, which suggested he was invisible. Tony didn't like the thought of that very much, but surely he would have attacked with the aliens instead of against them if he meant any harm to them. But then again, he was only here because he'd taken Peter from them. 

“Doesn't look like they've put out a welcome mat, but let's invite ourselves in anyway.” He blew the front gate open and landed in what seemed to be some kind of courtyard. It was empty apart from the bodies of several soldiers. Interesting. Maybe Loki had been planning some sort of double-cross all along. That sounded like him. Rather than standing there guessing what might have happened, Tony walked farther into the fortress. While he had no idea what this place was, it was obviously old, and he heavily suspected that it had been abandoned until recently. The building was fascinating, to be honest, but all thoughts about architecture flew out of his head a few minutes later. 

Almost the entire interior had been converted into a prison. But if he had to guess, not a single one of the cells held an adult. Instead it was a variety of children, alien children, and Tony suddenly felt sick. Even though Loki had said that someone was 'collecting' them, well, he'd hoped that it was some kind of hyperbole. They were all staring at him fearfully, and Tony realised that he probably looked like he was there to hurt him, with the suit's weapons systems all fully armed. 

“Okay, let's get these guys out of here, J. J? C'mon, buddy.” 

“I think it might not be wise to do that immediately, Sir.” Tony inhaled to protest, but the AI continued speaking. “The battle is still ongoing, and though these children have been kept alive for a reason, the alien forces may decide it is better to kill them than lose them. There is also a 76.8% likelihood of accidental fatalities thanks to the certainty that they will attempt to escape upon being freed.” 

Sometimes he hated that Jarvis was so much smarter than him. But he was also right. If these kids suddenly bolted, many of them could get killed, and Tony didn't want that to happen. Instead he went back to the fight, deciding to end it as soon as possible so that they could get back inside and get everyone released. The team had made significant progress while he was gone, and had pushed the aliens back into the courtyard. He kept them pinned there, instead of letting them retreat into the building, and after that it was over in a matter of minutes. 

He landed on the battlefield and the front of his helmet slid back to reveal his face. For the most part, it looked like they had come out of it okay. A collection of scrapes and bruises, but he'd seen Barton break three ribs because he fell off the kitchen counter trying to catch a piece of pizza before it hit the floor. They'd be fine. Unfortunately, there was a sixth member of their little party that appeared unharmed. 

“Bitch,” he greeted Loki. 

“Jerk,” the god promptly replied, and Tony stared at him. 

“Did you just make a Supernatural reference? When did you have time to watch that? How do you know it exists? Nope, scratch that, I don't want to know because that's weird. Let me skip to the more important question: what are you doing here and why shouldn't I kill you?” 

Rather than replying, Loki's gaze flicked over him before he turned away as if Tony wasn't even there. And that was damn rude. Thor sent him a disapproving glance before tailing after his brother, trying to talk to him with as little success. When the blond god abruptly fell silent, Tony looked over to see why, hoping that Loki hadn't stabbed him. Instead Thor stood in the open doorway of the makeshift prison, and Tony remembered why he'd been so intent on finishing things up out here. 

“Everyone remember what Loki said about someone collecting kids?” he asked, and his other teammates stopped talking to each other. “That entire building's full of 'em. I'd guess at least forty or fifty.” Natasha's mouth thinned into a hard line, and Steve and Clint briefly looked sick. Tony stepped out of the armour, leaving it standing in patrol mode in the courtyard, and the others followed him into the building. Thor and Loki were arguing in the middle of the room, but Tony didn't have time for that. 

“Hey! Where's Peter?” he demanded. 

“New Asgard,” Loki replied. He smirked when Tony stopped short, mouth open in shock, and put his hands on his hips. “I needed help defeating the soldiers here. You needed a reason to give me that help. But with our history, you never would have listened to an appeal, and truthfully, I found the idea of asking you for aid to be repulsive. But if you believed your son to be in danger? Well, the results speak for themselves.” He waved a hand behind them, towards the courtyard full of bodies. 

“You were just putting on a show,” Tony realised. 

“Mostly. I left your 'Peter' bound and muzzled in a fishing shed in New Asgard. The rest of the world doesn't dare trespass on those lands, putting him in no danger. And his inability to contact anyone left you thinking he was with me.” 

Loki tossed something towards Tony and he caught it on instinct. The tracker? He looked up, his confusion plain on his face. 

“When I first took him, I searched for any tracking devices. My story would fall apart if a simple check of your machines would reveal the truth. So that particular trinket came with me. You can keep it, I have no use of it now.” 

“Okay, but why? Why the ruse? Why attack this place?” 

“I wasn't lying about Thanos. He has some sort of plan for massive destruction and he didn't want anyone getting ideas about standing in his way. So he kidnapped the children of every ruler that he could get his hands on. None of them would declare war if they knew that their children would be killed. Once I found out, I decided it would be best if he was stopped. I found the location of this base and organised the strike. Each of them have me to thank for their children being alive. The monetary reward will quite honestly be unimaginable, apart from the fact that they are all now in my debt.” 

Tony had to admit that it was a solid plan. Loki had had the Avengers playing their parts to perfection without ever risking Peter's life, which would have made them turn on him. And he now had dozens of the most powerful people in space likely willing to do anything for him. Not to mention that he'd literally get a prince's ransom. Many times over, in fact. 

“Always so self-serving, brother,” Thor said with a sigh. “We would have helped you if you had told us the truth.” When Loki simply cocked an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms, he seemed to decide that discretion was the better part of valour. “Help us release them, at least. We can take them back to Asgard and contact their parents from there, but it's best if we're gone from here as soon as possible.” 

With that, the team dispersed. Steve and Tony took one side of the main room and Loki the other. The locks were simple enough that Steve could break them with his shield, or Tony with a low-power repulsor blast. It made sense – they were children, after all, they wouldn't need heavy security. Natasha, Clint, and Thor went to explore the rest of the building to make sure that they wouldn't miss anyone. 

It was nearly half an hour before the spies came back, herding a group of children in front of them. Steve was crouched down helping to bandage up the arm of a kid that had gotten hurt somehow, but it was the only injury that Tony had seen so far. Although he had no idea if he would even be able to tell if they were hurt. Many looked humanoid, to some degree or another, but others were most definitely not. Well, they were aliens. It stood to reason that they would be unrecognisable. 

“Brother,” Thor said hesitantly, and everyone but Loki looked at him. It wasn't often that the god of thunder sounded unsure of himself. Tony dearly hoped that he wasn't going to try to get Loki to come back to Earth with them, because there was no way that dick was going to be staying in the Tower with them. 

“What is it?” Loki asked impatiently when Thor didn't continue, looking over at him. Then he froze, eyes wide in shock, before sprinting toward his brother. Clint yelled a warning, reaching for an arrow as Natasha reached for her gun. But Tony quickly realised that Loki wasn't trying to attack Thor. It was the person beside the blond that had the god's full attention. 

Loki fell to his knees in front of the little girl as she reached out to him, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close, and Tony understood why he'd brought them here. 

* * *

The Avengers stood in awkward silence as Heimdall took the children in groups of ten. Loki was sitting apart from them with the girl in his lap. A moment ago he'd been asking her questions, probably if she was hurt. But now they sat quietly, with Loki's arms around her and her face hidden in his chest. Tony would have sworn that there had been tears on the god's face when he'd first held his daughter, but there was no trace of them now. He wondered if it was some kind of illusion. 

“Loki,” Thor said, crouching down in front of him. “Heimdall has all the children safely in Asgard and they'll be guests of the crown until we return them to their parents. We're going back to Midgard. I think-” The little girl shifted to look at him, red eyes standing out against her blue skin. He smiled at her and shifted topics. “And who are you, young one?” 

“This is Mila,” Loki said softly as the girl hid her face again. “She's never been shy like this before.” 

Tony risked a glance around and he realised he was the only other one that could hear the conversation between the two brothers. Nat, Clint, and Steve were all outside in the courtyard watching over the children. He hadn't seen Loki since the fight for New York in 2012, even though Thor had. Clearly a lot had happened since then. He couldn't help but keep his back to them and listen in. 

“She's been through a lot, being taken away from you and kept in this place without knowing why,” Thor pointed out. “She'll recover. How old is she?” 

“Three and a half. Her father was a Midgardian.” There was an exasperated huff. “Oh, don't look at me like that.” A beat of silence. “You know how I can be whatever I want, with my magic. When I met him, I was a woman. He was attractive and he wanted me. We spent several months together until I got bored and left him. By then, Mila was on her way, although I didn't know for some time after that. She was born looking like a Jotun and I... I loved her from the first moment I saw her.” 

“Why didn't you tell me?” 

“I thought it would be safer for her if she wasn't connected to anything dangerous. And the Midgard you're so fond of would attack me on sight. Then Thanos found out that she was mine. I still don't know how. But I left her with a caretaker for a few hours and came back to find her gone and the woman dead. His people contacted me a day later, telling me they would kill her if I ever tried to stand against him.” 

“You said that Thanos had been targeting the children of rulers...” Thor's voice trailed off in confusion. 

“Even though Laufey left me to die, I'm still technically his heir. I have the strongest claim to the throne by Jotun law. And with Odin taking me in, I'm in line behind you for the Asgardian throne as well. Mila is my firstborn, which makes her my successor. It was strange to realise that the position I'd been denied still put my daughter in danger.” 

“She's safe now. And with our success here, if Thanos ever does become a threat, there are a hundred planets that will remember us as their children's saviours. They will not let any harm come to her. Neither would I.” 

“Thank you, brother. But we have no legitimate claim to asylum on those planets, so...” There was a shuffle of fabric and Tony guessed that they were standing up. Well, it looked like this was the part where Loki left them to go do whatever it was he'd been doing for the last four years. 

“Stark!” 

He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of his name and quickly turned around. Had Loki realised he'd been listening to them the whole time? Was he going to try to stab him? That wouldn't go well for anyone. He really didn't want to get stabbed. 

“You are the leader of the Avengers?” 

“Pretty much, yeah. Sorry to tell you, but we're not taking applications at this time.” 

“Midgard has no planetary government but you are the leaders of its military?” 

“In a sense. I guess. Sort of. Why are you asking this, exactly?” He was starting to get an idea of where this was going and he didn't like it. 

“My daughter Mila is half human. I ask for asylum on your planet, among her father's people. I ask for your protection. For a safe place to raise my child.” 

Loki stared him in the eyes, chin up, back straight, and Tony couldn't help but think he looked more than capable of taking care of himself. And Tony wasn't even close to forgetting what happened during the Battle of New York, or what had led to a much more recent and smaller battle. But even if Loki was a shit person, he was a parent, and Tony couldn't imagine any parent letting their child get taken by Thanos. Even without the chance of them getting hurt or killed. 

Which meant that Mila had already gotten kidnapped once, and there was a chance it could happen again. He didn't like Loki very much. If it were just him, Tony would have taken this opportunity to at least punch him in the face. But he didn't like the idea that he might be responsible for a little girl being hurt because he had a grudge against her dad. As if sensing that he was weakening, Thor and Mila both looked at him, the first hopeful and the second quite honestly adorable. 

“All right, screw it. Sure. You can come with us. But you're out on your ass if you ever try to hurt any of us, or our planet, or the people on our planet. In any way.” 

“I accept your terms.” Loki shifted Mila and held out his hand to shake. Against his better judgment, Tony took it, and the deal was sealed. 

“Great! Now we just gotta tell everybody else. Hey Clint! Nat! Steve! Guess who's coming to dinner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The kids Thor mentions Loki losing with Asgard are Sleipnir and Jormungandr. Because once your brother shits out two inhuman kids like that, you gotta bring it up whenever you can.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who watched Infinity War and rage wrote a chapter full of Loki being alive

They stopped by New Asgard first, because Tony wasn't the only one impatient to get Peter home safe and sound. And because he could tell that Thor was the only one excited about the prospect of Loki moving in with them, though the others hadn't said anything yet. He had a feeling that he'd be facing some pretty heavy scrutiny to explain his decision. For all that the Avengers were a good team in the field, they tended to butt heads over a variety of things when it came to more domestic matters, and they had a bad history with Loki. 

Like Tony, however, they were surprised when they landed on New Asgard and didn't exactly find Loki with them. In his place was a black-haired woman, wearing a dark green dress and holding a girl with blue eyes and curly brown hair. She raised an eyebrow at them as if to ask what they were staring at, clearly unimpressed with their behaviour. Tony remembered what Loki had said to Thor about his magic, and realised that had to be the 'how' behind the shift, but he was still in the dark as to the 'why'. 

“What exactly is this necessary for?” he couldn't help asking. 

“Asgardians have hunted and killed Frost Giants for centuries, practically for sport,” Loki explained. “There's an ancient grudge between our races, rarely kept at bay for more than a few decades at a time. Mila would be in danger if they saw her in her natural state. And they've hated me for a variety of reasons since I was young, so I never attempted to endear myself to them.” 

Thor made no move to correct his brother – sister? – and Tony took that as pretty solid confirmation that Loki was right in what she was telling them. Awkward. 

“Your child is this way,” she told them, and started walking towards the shoreline. 

“Peter's not my child,” Tony repeated himself for the thousandth time. By now he was pretty sure that even the other Avengers half thought they were related. Loki certainly wasn't the only one to ignore his protests. 

If they had one more person living with them that thought he was Peter's father, he was going to move to the Bahamas and never come back. They had an abundance of sunny beaches and a shortage of annoying teenagers. Peter tried his best, he knew that, but he didn't need to get attached to anyone else. Even though Loki had been bullshitting this time, which he was still a little bit impressed over, they might not be so lucky the second time. 

Loki stopped in front of the nearest shed and flicked her fingers to open the door with her magic before stepping inside. Ah, yes, there was the – what was it, Peter? She led the way to the back. Only Tony was following her, she noticed. There was barely room for the two of them with all the equipment in here, but she found the mortal's protectiveness rather amusing. Maybe he thought that Loki would attempt to steal his child again. Tempting, now that she thought about it. 

She waved her hand to undo the chains and Peter attempted to get up, but quickly fell on his face. Loki rolled her eyes and turned to leave, only to bump straight into Tony. They stared at each other for a moment, startled, and Loki couldn't help but think that the man really was close to her. 

“Unless you desire to kiss me, Stark, I suggest you move aside.” 

“What? No. Ew.” 

Loki raised an eyebrow and Tony shuffled to the side, awkwardly leaning back against a boat that was up on cinderblocks to let her pass. The god left, ignoring the suspicious looks from the Avengers, who no doubt thought that she'd stabbed their leader in a fishing shed while holding a three-year-old. It was a wonder they'd ever managed to defeat her in battle. Or that they'd helped her to save her daughter a matter of hours ago. 

She ignored them and carried Mila towards the shore. The girl pointed at all the seagulls nesting there and Loki explained to her what they were. She didn't know much about the animals on Midgard, but they were obviously sea birds of some sort, and she knew one or two facts to entertain her daughter. Of course, she wanted to pick one up, but Loki firmly put a stop to that idea. 

“Loki!” Thor called. “We're ready to leave!” 

She sighed. Well wasn't that subtle? Mila scrunched up her nose at the loud voice and Loki couldn't help but internally agree. Still, the Avengers were... well, not exactly her guardians, but she was relying on them for a place to stay considering their deal. It would amuse her if it was in the same tower where she'd opened the Chitauri portal almost seven years ago. 

“Thor, you do realise that the reason I am here as a woman is so that people won't know who I am?” she asked. For a moment, her brother looked ashamed of himself, but then he shrugged, and she assumed that that was the best she was going to get. 

A moment later, rainbow light coalesced around them and they were dropped into what seemed to be a penthouse suite. Loki couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face as she removed Mila's glamour to return her to her natural look. Oh, so it _was_ the same tower that she'd made such a mess of on her last visit here. The blond Avengers were discussing something between themselves but she ignored them and crossed the room to the window. Mila leaned away from her to place her hands on the glass, pressing her face up against it to get a better look outside. 

“What's that?” she asked. Loki had no idea what she was referring to. 

“A building,” she guessed. 

“Which ooone,” she whined. 

“A boring one.” 

“You don't know that,” she said with a frown. 

“I am older than you. That makes me smarter.” 

“No.” 

They traded some 'yes'es and 'no's back and forth until Mila crossed her arms and fell silent. It only took about thirty seconds, which Loki had expected, given that her attention span didn't often last longer than five minutes. And considering who her mother was, she really wasn't very argumentative. Honestly, it was rather adorable. Loki turned away from the window and glanced around until she found Stark. 

“I assume you have quarters available for us,” she said, joining him at the bar. “Likely not impressive, but I am sure they will suffice.” 

“Wow, what a graceful and humble way of asking,” Tony replied. “Yeah, Jarvis can take you to one of the guest suites.” 

“Very well.” Loki plucked the tumbler out of his hand and took a sip from it as she walked toward the elevator. That had taken her to the ground floor the last time she was there, so it stood to reason that it would take her to whatever floor she was supposed to be staying on. She ignored the protests from Stark behind her, rolling her eyes as the doors closed between them. What an annoying man. 

“There are four empty residential floors below those currently occupied by the Avengers,” said the electronic butler as the elevator doors opened again. “This is the topmost one. It is not equipped for a child of your daughter's age, but the furniture for a nursery will be arriving tomorrow morning.” 

“Who exactly chose the furnishings?” Loki asked with a slight frown. 

“They were selected by myself from an amalgamation of lists suggesting items for a three-year-old's room.” 

“You may cancel the shipment. I will choose something myself tomorrow. I assume you can find some appropriate places for me to select what I need and display the inventory on that screen?” There was a flatscreen tv mounted on one of the walls of the main room and she assumed it wouldn't be hard to get an idea of what she wanted. There was a long minute of silence as she looked at the rest of the floor. A large bedroom with an attached bathroom, two smaller bedrooms with a bathroom between them, and then a combined kitchen and living room that took up about half the square footage. 

“Mr Stark has granted your request to do your own shopping,” the butler said. “He will be providing you with a laptop and bank account to enable you to purchase what you want without requiring my assistance. He does, however, want you to bring back the glass that you took when you left.” 

“He can come get it himself if it's so important to him,” she replied. Mila had disappeared to check out the two smaller bedrooms again, since Loki had told her to pick which one she wanted. There was no response from the butler, so she assumed that the glass was not very important to Stark. And there was also no food in the kitchen, just appliances. The place had nice furniture, she had to admit, but fortunately there were no decorations and the paint was all off-white. It would be easy to redo. 

“Mr Stark will be arriving on your floor shortly,” the butler said, and Loki raised an eyebrow. The elevator doors opened a few minutes later and Stark walked out with his hands in his pockets. 

“I'd say I love what you've done with the place but you haven't done anything,” he said with a shrug. “But I do still want my glass back, because it was really rude for you to just steal it like that. You could have just, you know, asked for a drink like a normal person and gotten a drink like a normal person.” 

“Well, you never did come through on that drink you offered me seven years ago, so I assumed that I would need to take drastic measures to get this one. And I didn't see you chasing me down to get it back when I claimed it.” 

“Okay, yeah, that's fair. And a surprisingly good memory on you. I feel like I would be kind of flattered by your remembering me if it weren't for the fact that you tried to kill me so many times. That kind of puts a damper on us getting along, don't you think? But I mean, you're living here, and usually I make it a point to not let my enemies anywhere near me. Possibly a former enemy but I'm not really sure where we stand right now.” 

“It varies from moment to moment,” she said with a little shrug. “For now? Well, I did give you my word to not hurt anyone on this planet. As much as a promise is worth from a god of lies and mischief. I can't say that I'd trust myself if I were in your place, Stark. After all, do I really have a strong incentive to tell the truth to you? To your team?” 

“Yeah,” Tony said slowly, not sure if Loki was bullshitting him again or not. “You're here because you want a safe place for your daughter to grow up after she went through a dangerous, scary experience.” 

“You're intelligent, for a mortal,” she said thoughtfully. “Most people would have focused on the questions at the end.” Then she smiled and teleported to the kitchen counter where she'd left the tumbler, teleporting back to hold it out to him. “Well done, mortal. Here's your glass.” 

“Um, okay. I was... not expecting this. But I do not like being handed things so you can put that back on the counter so I can pick it up myself.” 

“And here I had assumed that you already knew to expect the unexpected when it comes to someone like myself.” She was about to say something else when Mila ran into the room to join them. “What do you need, Mila?” she asked, crouching down. 

“I'm hungry,” the girl complained. “I want pizza.” 

“Uh, how does she know what pizza is? When have you been on Earth? Is there another kid I need to know about? Is there a baby daddy I need to be worried about? Do either of you think pineapple is appropriate for pizza?” Tony asks. 

“You are not entitled to information about me, Stark,” Loki said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. “But my daughter is entitled to her pizza. What is the name of your electronic butler?” 

“My what? You mean Jarvis?” 

“Jarvis! I would like a pepperoni pizza from wherever can deliver the most quickly.” 

“Of course. Any sides or drinks?” 

“Bread!” Mila chirped. 

“Breadsticks, too, Jarvis,” Loki said. “And whatever juice the establishment may have.” 

“You're ignoring me and I don't like being ignored,” Tony complained. Loki held the glass out to him with an annoyed look and he quickly put his hands up. “No, really, I don't like being handed things.” 

Loki rolled her eyes and teleported back over to the kitchen to set the glass down on the counter there. If Stark was going to be weird, then she was going to ignore him. Mila then decided to ignore them both and go back over to the window. She seemed to still be very interested in the skyline, and Loki made a mental note to keep that in mind for the future. He would have to take her to some place where she could see a view of another part of the city. There was some especially large park somewhere in this city, wasn't there? 

She would enjoy that. She had inherited her mother's taste for going to museums, it had seemed, but she also enjoyed being in nature. Loki wasn't exactly sure how to encourage that, but many normal parents took their children to parks, didn't they? Frigga had taken her to a certain outdoor garden a few times and she'd always enjoyed spending time with her mother looking at the rare and magical flowers. Midgard would have nothing to compare to that, she was certain, but Mila was honestly easy to entertain. 

“You may take your glass and leave, Stark,” Loki told him. “Unless you wish to stay for dinner with us.” As expected, it didn't take long for Stark to bolt. She went to sit down on the couch, picking up one of the books on the table there to flip through it. There were some truly stunning landscape shots. Midgard seemed to have some places that were worth visiting, especially those glowworm caves in New Zealand. Mila would love those, she thought, although her daughter might then want to decorate her room to reflect the glowing. 

“Jarvis, I would like to see some of the lists that you bought furniture from,” she said as she put the book back. The television screen lit up and soon displayed a page from what looked like some sort of parenting book, referred to as a 'blog' at the top. There was a lengthy introduction that she completely ignored, scanning through the list to see if there was anything that she found particularly interesting. Most of it looked to be the same as she would have asked of an Asgardian craftsmen, besides the toys. She wasn't sure about many of them. 

“The pizza delivery will be here in approximately four minutes,” Jarvis said a short time later. “You may wish to hide your daughter's appearance, as they have sent someone to deliver the food personally. Mr Stark has also arranged for several changes of clothes to be delivered for you and your daughter, which will arrive in the elevator with the food.” 

“Thank you,” Loki said. She got up and saw that Mila was sitting cross-legged in front of the window, watching the vehicles and people moving far below at street level. “Mila. Did you hear Jarvis telling you that the food will be delivered here soon?” When her daughter nodded, Loki held out her hand to help the girl up and cast an illusion over her to restore the same blue eyes and brown hair that she'd had when visiting New Asgard. Midgardians, if he had to guess, would not react well to suddenly seeing an alien. 

But the pizza delivery man didn't seem to care very much about who they were once he realised that they weren't members of the Avengers. Loki was, however, fairly certain that there would be some sort of gossip following this given how the Avengers seemed to be romantically unattached. People seemed to always think that if a woman was in the vicinity of a popular man, it meant that she was trying to sleep with him, no matter how many times they said they wanted to remain friends. It was an interesting phenomenon, to say the least, but it was drama that she didn't want unfolding around her and Mila. 

Perhaps she would have to speak to Stark about it, though she didn't particularly care for the idea of asking him for anything. Well, beyond what she needed for herself and Mila to have a comfortable home here. The tower was interesting, from what little she had seen of it. It could be very interesting to explore it farther, although she had no idea what was here apart from the Avengers' living quarters. She would have to ask Jarvis what areas of the tower she was allowed to access. 

She found plates, glasses, and napkins in the kitchen, and portioned out food for herself and Mila. She'd have to get smaller, plastic cups that would be easier for Mila to handle, and less likely to shatter if they were dropped. No doubt the purchases she'd be making would be large enough that a few plastic cups would go entirely unnoticed. It wouldn't surprise her in the least if Stark was going to go over what she bought. But then again, he had agreed to shelter her, and offered her a bank account to get whatever she wished. 

“Mila, come sit with me on the couch,” she said, picking up her plate. “Jarvis, bring up some image ideas for a bedroom.” She could talk with Mila about what she wanted her bedroom to look like over dinner, pick out some furniture together, and then have it all delivered in the morning. Midgard had to be capable of delivering things overnight, and she was fairly certain that Stark's wealth and influence allowed the residents of his tower to get better service than the rest of the city. 

Mila went to bed not long after dinner, but Loki stayed awake in the living room, reverting to a man as he filled his glass with juice again. Jarvis was able to deliver a sketchbook and a set of pencils, and he sat cross-legged on the couch. Stark's clothes had included two sets of both pajamas and casual wear for each of them. He had a feeling that he knew exactly why all of his shirts happened to be green, but he hadn't expected a third set of clothes for him to dress as a man. It was... surprisingly thoughtful and he wondered if Stark expected to be thanked for it. Well, he would be disappointed if so. 

Instead Loki sat on the couch and tucked one foot under his leg, flipping the cover of the sketchbook back. Jarvis still had all the images of the furniture Mila had liked up on the television. He glanced up at the screen, then started drawing several ideas for how to place that furniture in Mila's room. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with the second bedroom, but he decided to ignore that for now. He could put the floor's original furniture in there if Stark didn't want to get rid of it. 

And since Mila had picked out the colours she wanted her room painted, he would have to see about allowing workmen onto the floor to decorate things. He could have a nice day out with his daughter and they would be able to come back home to a newly refurbished floor. The only rooms he really wanted to change were their respective bedrooms, but then again, if he could redo the entire thing and push Stark's boundaries... 

Well, he had always been known for seeing what he could get away with before someone snapped. He'd all but built his own home when he'd been living with Mila on another planet, but he assumed that he should try to blend in with Midgard. And that would mean doing things according to the rules on this planet, which very likely meant relying on workers rather than doing everything alone. And likely not using magic for most of it, and that was the part that he was not at all impressed with. Still, nobody would tell him what to do in his own home. Even if he didn't technically own it. 

He was awake until nearly four in the morning, according to the clock on the stove in the kitchen. But it felt good to be able to draw again. Since he'd never wanted to apprentice to a craftsman, Odin had always called it woman's work. He had mocked Loki for his interests, tying it to his 'womanly' magic and how 'weak' he was for spending so much time learning with his mother in the library, complaining that daggers were not used by 'real men' and that Loki would never be of any use on the battlefield. Most of Asgard's court and influential members had chosen to share those views. 

It had been a harsh thing for him to come to grips with, but he'd barely done anything for the last thousand years. At least until he'd truly begun a life on his own. Then he'd been able to draw occasionally, but he'd usually been busy with raising his daughter and keeping a suspicious eye out for Thanos. Now perhaps he could let his guard down a little and begin to focus more on what he enjoyed doing. Mila would always come first for him, but if he had the chance to paint again... a smile curved across his lips at the thought. 

He closed the sketchbook and left it on the table in front of the couch as he went to bed. Mila would probably be up early, but he would have at least a few hours to sleep before she'd be up and wanting attention from him. They'd likely spend tomorrow in the tower, well, today. And that would give him enough time to make arrangements for the workers to come in and for him to Mila to have an enjoyable day out, probably to that Central Park not too far from here. 

When he'd asked Stark for amnesty, he hadn't thought for a moment that the man would accept. He'd really only planned to be an annoyance, possibly get Thor to argue with his team about whether he deserved to stay. But apparently he had a home now. Assuming that he stayed out of trouble, though he could take the form of anyone he wanted if he really wanted to cause trouble. It was an amusing thought, and he felt as though it would be even more amusing to play with Stark in that fashion. 

But not if it was ever going to endanger the home that he was making for Mila. He had never planned to be a parent, and the protectiveness he felt toward his daughter had been entirely unexpected. He wished he could say that he couldn't imagine not having her in his life, but he'd just had firsthand and horrifying experience with what his life was like without her. It had just made him even more determined to keep her safe. And to his surprise, as he began to fall asleep, his thoughts were full of the life that they could build here.


End file.
